The Boys Was Almost a Movie Trilogy Before It Was a TV Show

The Boys is a bigger hit than ever for Prime Video in its fourth season, with a fifth and final season already on the way—not to mention the upcoming season two of spin-off Gen V, plus The Boys: Mexico coming soon. But according to a new report, the popular TV series was almost a movie series instead.

According to a Rolling Stone article which calls The Boys “secretly the best show on television,” the beloved comic book-turned-film series dragging superheroes through the mud was this close to becoming a film trilogy from director Adam McKay. The outlet reports that Sony bought the rights to the property in 2008 after Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg—who are now among the Prime Video series’ executive producers—excitedly brought a copy of the first issue of the Garth Ennis-Darick Richardson comic to a pitch meeting.

Speaking to the magazine, Rogen said, “We were like, ‘Holy shit, this is fucking crazy. And that week we went to Sony and we’re like, ‘You guys should make this.’” The property eventually went to director McKay—who’s since made The Big Short and Don’t Look Up, but in 2008 was mostly known for his Will Ferrell collaborations, including the Funny or Die site and features Anchorman and Step Brothers—who thought only a trilogy of films could do justice to the story of Butcher, Homelander, and company. The outlet states the first of which “went as far as a finished screenplay and even demo animatics of scenes,” but “the world wasn’t ready” in 2008— the year superhero movies like Iron Man and The Dark Knight were only just beginning to overtake theaters like an invasive species.

In the words of Robertson, “it just came down to it being 2008, not 2018. I just don’t think they were ready for it yet.” However, Robertson feels no ill will for Sony. “I wouldn’t change how it worked out, because the show is amazing. But [McKay] was doing really cool stuff.”

The Boys season four is streaming now on Prime Video.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.